THE FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
Some years ago, I was at an interesting lecture and at one point, the speaker asked people to gather a few others and take a photo of the group. She then asked people to look at the photo they had taken and then asked whom they had looked at first? Of course – everyone looked at themselves first. This trait of our self-obsession has been well recognized by social media programmers with “like” buttons, “selfie” photos and endless posts about – “me, myself and I”. This is not a new phenomenon but part of our inherent nature as demonstrated by the famous saying “always bet on the horse called self-interest, because you know it’s always trying”.
Self-interest is probably a survival mechanism but also it can be destructive as we seek to promote ourselves and often tread on others. Behind this individual trait of our self-focus is a bigger question: what do we believe in, apart from ourselves? For Western societies, founded on the law of God of the Bible, what role does belief in God play today?
The Gallup organization in the US has been conducting polling for almost 80 years with a simple question for Americans: do you believe in God? In 1944, 96% people believed and the figure moved up to 98% in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then belief in God has been declining with the latest Gallup poll this year showing 81% of Americans indicated that they believe in God. These trends are shown in the chart below from Gallup. Figures for belief in God dropped further when people were asked about whether they were “convinced that God exists” – with only 64% people in 2017 indicating that they were convinced about God’s existence.
Gallup Poll Graph Examining Trends in Belief in God - Last 20 years
The Pew Research Center also has done surveys in Europe about belief in God and their data are interesting to compare with the USA. They asked slightly different questions: belief in God and belief in God with “absolute certainty” .
In general, the former communist Eastern and Central European countries had populations with had a higher percentage of people who believed in God with “absolute certainty”. Clearly, as these societies experienced the impact of godless totalitarianism that claimed to be creating a new utopia, people turned to God for eternal security.
Data from Pew Research Center - % of Population who Believe in God with Certainty
It is interesting to see that the European countries with the largest economies : Germany, France and the UK, have only 10-12% of their populations who believe in God with “absolute certainty”. It is a thought-provoking survey and even more so when you see the results of the questions: belief in God, being rephrased as: “belief in God with absolute certainty”. In the UK, Germany and France for example, 56-60% of people indicated that they believe in God but this drops dramatically to around 10-12% when the qualification is added “with absolute certainty”. I was fascinated by this difference and I suppose that the key question is: what does faith in something or someone actually mean? For those who say that they believe in God, it seems to mean a notion that God may exist but that they wouldn’t stake their lives on this belief. More Americans have certainty about God’s existence than Europeans but the percentage of Americans who believe in God is decreasing. There are similar findings in Australia and only 25% if the population believes in God of the Bible and that Jesus was divine and rose from the dead, according to the most recent National Church Life Survey . My sense is that the figure in Australia would be much lower, if you added the words “with absolute certainty”.
The implications for the decline in belief in the God of the Bible are very important as Western societies increasingly enact laws that are against God’s laws. This is demonstrated by the rise in support for same-sex marriage, gender fluidity, abortion, euthanasia and even socialism/communism. Although I have seen no data, I think it is likely that the decrease in belief in God also is correlated with an increase in worship of the environment, which is heavily promoted in schools and universities.
The impact on politics of belief in God also is very significant. In US surveys, Republicans are more likely to believe in God than Democrats and, for example, to support the overturning of Roe v Wade on abortion (72% Republicans compared to only 17% Democrats). Democrats now support abortion up until full-term and it is horrifying to find that while blacks constitute 13% of the US population, they represent 40% of abortions and most Planned Parenthood centres are in black neighbourhoods. More than 90% of the black population votes Democrat and so bizarrely, supports the party that has policies that oversee destruction of the black population. Of course this was the intention of the early 20th century eugenicist and Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, much lauded by the Democrats and Hilary Clinton in particular.
Clearly there are consequences that flow from the foundations of faith. Rejecting God results in rejection of the spiritual undergirding of our societies. However, God is not a disinterested party sitting above the firmament but a God who hates wickedness and judges evil. In the Old Testament Books of Kings and the prophets, God judges His chosen people Israel. Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom) were invaded, many killed and the remaining populace taken captive because of their disobedience. This was after repeated warnings by God through His prophets over hundreds of years. Specific sins hated by God were: the worship of false gods, temple prostitution, sacrifice of infants and children, practise of divination and sorcery, and rejection of God’s Law. In addition, Israel was judged for lack of care for widows and children, oppression of the poor, greed and alliances with heathen nations.
God cares about injustice and idolatry. It must grieve Him greatly to see Western nations that previously showed an allegiance to Him, His law and the Bible, rejecting Him and promoting evil laws. The Rev Billy Graham said back in 1975:
“I believe that every problem facing us as Americans is basically a spiritual problem. Crime is a spiritual problem. Inflation is a spiritual problem. Corruption is a spiritual problem. Social injustice is a spiritual problem. The lack of will even to defend our freedoms is a spiritual problem.”
The consequences of a decline in belief in the God of the Bible are significant for Western society and are evident in issues as diverse as: mental health disorders, decline in marriage and family breakdown, lawlessness, social unrest, economic uncertainty, gender confusion, socialism and even life itself. Our societies are inviting God’s judgement by declaring “what is evil as good, and what is good as evil” (Isaiah 5:20), just as in the time of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah.
Rick Warren, the author of A Purpose Driven Life in a TED talk given after his book became the biggest selling book in the world, said that “everyone is betting their life on something”. Most people have faith in something – usually it is themselves – but the surveys clearly indicate that perhaps 10-20% of Western populations have “absolute certainty” about the God of the Bible and His ways. These views now are very much a minority but the Creator of the Universe is not looking for validation through votes or social media “likes”. God is God and if we go against him and His ways, the consequences will ripple through our societies as we invite God’s judgement. The COVID-19 plague could be one of the signs.
Rabbi Jonathan Cahn provided a helpful perspective linking various significant recent events to God’s timetable, outlined in the Old Testament. I have included a link below to a speech given at the National Conference of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, in July this year
The presentation is 30 minutes long but worthwhile taking the time to watch as Rabbi Cahn links some of the significant recent events, such as the overturning of Roe v Wade to prayer and repentance by God’s people. The notable Bible verse is from 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, where God says:
“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
When we see drought, plague or pestilence, we need to ask: what is God saying about how we are acting as a society? Repentance – turning away from our evil ways and back to God – is powerful and honoured by God.
If we look at the rise and fall of nations, God’s hand is behind all events. When we put our faith in God, it is not in vain and is something that turns our eyes heavenwards, away from ourselves to someone greater. This is the “secret sauce” that lies behind the power of forgiveness that I wrote about in last weeks “Sons of Issachar Newsletter”.
To conclude this post, I thought that it was worthwhile exploring briefly the concept of what faith is. It is interesting that the only definition of faith given in the Bible is in the Book of Hebrews. There, the writer says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence (a sure persuasion) of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The writer follows this by outlining Old Testament personalities who walked by faith and not by sight. Pastor Derek Prince, one of the most insightful Bible scholars of the 20th century, has an excellent 10 min presentation about faith:
Some of the important points that Derek makes in this talk are:
faith (as used in the Bible) can come only from one place - the Word of God, the Bible;
faith is a substance – something very real;
on the basis of faith, we can have hope for the future;
faith is not static – it is moving and is not an intellectual position but something in the heart;
faith is in the heart (and leads to salvation) whereas hope is in the mind;
faith is in the present but hope is in the future;
faith takes us beyond the realm of the senses to the invisible;
we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) – when you see, you don’t need to believe, you only need to believe when you don’t see;
we don’t walk by what we see but what we believe – believing comes first;
faith is a matter or character – as understood from the Hebrew and Greek. Primarily the words in Hebrew and Greek mean faithfulness, loyalty and commitment.
There are many pressures that seek to undermine our faith because faith is battle of endurance.
Faith will be tested – untested faith is of no value to God.
We need to learn endurance – by enduring (James 1:2-4)!
So – if we are to be people of faith, we need to understand God and His ways in the Bible. Faith is in the future but it is not blind and without foundation. The foundation of faith is our assurance of God’s character and His commitment to those who put their trust in Him. Faith is something real (a substance) but something we can’t see. The hope that those who believe in the God of the Bible have is the certainty (by faith) of the return of Jesus and His future perfect reign. In Revelation 21:2-4 we are told:
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
I believe this by faith!
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP
A Summary of Some Significant Events Around the World in the Last Week
USA
John Solomon, an investigative journalist with Just the News - published an article in the last few days showing that the White House was intimately involved with events leading up to the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. This was despite the White House spokesmen saying that they had no knowledge about the raid. Many commentators who have good links to the Trump camp believe that the raid was unrelated to “classified” documents but rather are likely to be linked to a “fishing” expedition to try to find documents related to the January 6th Capitol demonstration. Biden has been out of view for the last month and it seems that his absence from the White House is likely to be linked to the Mar-a-Lago raid with his staff trying to get him out of the firing line. The fallout from the Mar-a-Lago raid will continue for some time and have major political repercussions. It will be interesting to see if there is any real substance behind the raid when the affidavit is released (or leaks) this coming week. It does seem that the Democrats think that their best election strategy is to ensure that Trump is pushed back into the spotlight, to bring out Democrat voters. It will definitely further polarize the country as it become clear that the justice system is completely partisan.
Meanwhile, the economic destruction of the US continues with the so called “Inflation Reduction Act” - signed into law, including funds for an additional 87,000 IRS (taxation) agents to be recruited to try to gouge further taxes from the middle classes. However there is no money in the budget to hire armed school officers to protect children in schools.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the release of Robert Davi’s new film “My Son Hunter” - which features the noted British actor Laurence Fox who plays Hunter Biden. The film will premiere on 7th September and is likely to have an impact on wider political process and the mid-term elections as more evidence related the “Biden Crime Family” is produced - as outlined in Miranda Devine’s book Laptop from Hell. However, nothing seems to stick to Biden as he is protected by the media, Big Tech and what looks increasingly like a corrupt Justice Department.
The Epoch Times reported this week that almost 5 million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border since Biden took office. It is likely that the figure is much higher, given that there are many border crossings unknown to immigration authorities. These illegal immigrants pose a huge potential cost to the US and also bring more crime and drugs into the US. The White House and media are turning a blind eye to the issue but the long-term impact of failing to secure the southern border is a country that has lost any security. Bizarrely, the Biden administration is sending billions of dollars to Ukraine to try to secure their border with Russia.
Joe Biden has returned from “holidays” to announce a plan for student college debt forgiveness that will be costly and likely to lead to further inflationary pressures. It is unclear about the powers that he has to take this action, which is certain to be challenged in the courts.
As we look at events unfolding in the US, it seems as though we are watching a slowly unfolding train wreck. America is resilient but it is hard to see a return to free-market economics, individual responsibility and independence that have made the country great.
United Kingdom & Europe
I wasn’t surprised to find a headline in the UK Telegraph yesterday that said “EU feared to be losing the will to back Ukraine”. With the dramatic rises in the cost of living in EU countries, and facing a seemingly intractable conflict, domestic European opinion supporting weapons and finance for Ukraine, is falling away. This will be further evident with the approach of the European winter when Russian gas supply will be critical for survival.
The UK also is under greater financial pressure with the increase in inflation and further funds needed for the National Health System and “social care”. This will be a major challenge for the eventual victor in the seemingly interminable process to select the new UK Prime Minister. The process has taken 6 weeks and involved 12 “hustings” of which 11 have now taken place. The final “husting” is to be held in London on 31 August prior to the results of the postal vote by about 180,000 Conservative Party members being announced on September 5th. In these hustings, the two candidates – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, debated policies and answered questions from the public. Sunak is more financially conservative and it seems that Truss wants to have her cake and eat it – spend more and cut taxes.
Sunak did make an interesting comment this week where he said that it had been “wrong to empower scientists” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, this was the situation in all Western countries with the result that unelected health bureaucrats became dictators. The price to pay has been a destructive impact on health. Recent data from Europe have demonstrated an increase in cases of the incurable brain disorder, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) associated with the mRNA vaccines. Symptoms were evident an average of 11 days after vaccination and those with the disease have been dying in less than 5 months - Steve Kirsch has estimated in his Substack newsletter:
- that 12 million people worldwide have died after COVID-19 vaccination. It still seems impossible to get any traction from governments to investigate the adverse effects and this is probably because all fear what happens when they look in Pandora’s box. Most governments seem happy to live in denial and continue to recommend that people take the COVID-19 “vaccines”, which not only are ineffective but also increase the likelihood of a serious vaccine-induced disease.
A good article in the Spectator this week - - also highlighted another major problem facing the incoming UK Prime Minister: the illegal immigrant crisis. In 2021 there were 28,526 arrival by dinghy in a well-planned people smuggling operation where large payments are made to the smugglers. The cost to the UK taxpayer is staggering with 30,000 hotel rooms being requisitioned at a cost of £5 million per day. There was an agreement to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda but this agreement has been thwarted by legal manoeuvres. Woke lawyers seem to beat the government at every turn and Liz Truss is threatening to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. Governments seldom hold their nerve and so at this stage, I’ll back the woke lawyers.
Russia and Ukraine
Ukrainian Independence Day has just been and gone (24th August) and there were reports that 25 people were killed by missiles striking a railway station in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has now been at war with Russia for 6 months and it seems that Russia is in control of around 20% of Ukrainian territory. Losses on both sides are substantial and there are reports of Russian losses approaching 46,000.
It is likely that Ukrainian losses are substantially higher. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on Ukrainian Independence Day and announced further UK financial support. The US has provided around US$15 billion in support to Ukraine, which is around 3 times that spent on Afghanistan in 2019. Ukraine looks like a black hole and financial and military support will continue to disappear.
It is hard to forecast what will happen next in the conflict but there is likely to be a number of unpredictable events that could turn the conflict in a new direction. One of these events was the attempted assassination of Alexander Dugin by a car bomb outside Moscow. The bomb killed Dugin’s daughter and Moscow quickly blamed Ukraine for the attack. Dugin has been described as being the philosopher behind Putin and clearly is close to the Kremlin. I have listened to one of his speeches in the last few weeks and he is fluent in English and erudite. It is hard to foresee the consequences of this car bombing but it is likely to lead to a further escalation in the conflict.
Brian Dean Wright has a podcast called The President’s Daily Brief and his 25th August briefing on Ukraine is worthwhile listening to for an oveview:
China vs The West
I was surprised at a story from one of the UK papers this week that reported that Australians feared being invaded by China more than the Taiwanese do. I haven’t met any Australians who have expressed such fears but I do know that the Australian Defence chiefs are planning for a military showdown at some stage.
China is in the grip of incessant COVID-19 testing - as part of the country’ zero COVID-19 policy. The government has even extended COVID-19 testing to fisherman and fish. It is hard to understand the goal of this draconian policy as the economic impact is severe and tourism has virtually ground to a halt. The Chinese leadership always acts in their own self-interest and it may be that these actions are simply to demonstrate government control.
Further economic shocks are coming to the Chinese economy and the biggest one seems to be the crisis in the housing market. The UK Telegraph had a remarkable story this week that Chinese authorities are tearing down tower blocks and pausing construction of buildings that could house up to 75 million people. The article highlighted what was called a “build, pause, demolish, repeat strategy as Chinese officials seek to restrict supply to avoid a plunge in house prices and boost economic activity through more construction.”
When you are tearing down housing for millions to “stimulate” the economy it does hint of desperation and so China may be in more trouble than is apparent to Western observers.
Israel
Israel must be horrified at the “blank cheque” that the Biden administration is ready to hand Iran. Mike Gallagher, a US Congressman, has warned that the deal being prepared by White House will fund terrorist activities around the world, including those targeted at US personnel. This will cause massive concern in Israel and plans must be well advanced for a worst case scenario. The Mossad chief has warned about the deal but says that the chances of it being signed are “close to 100%”.
I was interested to read just before finishing the newsletter that the two candidates for UK Prime Minister said that they would consider moving the UK Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This seems unlikely, given the anti-Israel bias in UK politics.
It does seem likely that Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu may be re-elected Prime Minister if the right wing parties win the November 1st election. Bibi is a remarkable survivor and may yet pull off another election victory.
Summary
Economic challenges dominate the landscape in the West. Forecasts are that annual inflation rates in the UK could reach close to 20% by the end of 2023 and similar rates will be found in other G20 countries. The Ukraine is a disaster and it seems likely that if Putin can hold on to territory gained, that Western leaders will lose their appetite for financial support, as domestic crises dominate the political landscape. What global leaders of the World Economic Forum need is another pandemic – so keep your eyes on the next “simulation”!